MGM Launches Rebooted Stargate Trilogy With Original Director and Writer

Ahh, 1994′s Stargate, one of the most endearing, earnestly optimistic and ambitious science fiction films to ever be founded on the idea that it’s so impossible for brown people to have built the pyramids that it must have been aliens. Bask in the glory of James Spader‘s awkward academic phase, or at least the awkward academic as interpreted by mid-nineties cinema. Statistically, 70% of these roles were played by Jeff Goldblum, but you might get to see another actor in that role real soon.

Confirming hints dropped by Stargate director Roland Emmerichlast September, MGM has announced that it is moving forward on a reboot of the twenty year old film into a full trilogy. From The Hollywood Reporter:

Roland Emmerich, who directed and co-wrote the original film with Dean Devlin, will direct and Devlin will produce.

MGM will be running production on Stargate, with Jonathan Glickman, president of the motion picture group, overseeing the project on behalf of MGM and Greg Silverman, president of creative development and worldwide production, overseeing for Warner Bros. Pictures.

It’ll be neat to see another writer take a stab at the story with the same folks involved in crafting its overall feel. Setting aside the movie’s obliviousness to its white savior tropes, it remains entertaining in spite of being kind of a hot mess writing-wise. It’s got all the right elements, but kind of jumbles them in its second act. The original Stargate was also intended to be the first of a trilogy, but, despite a strong box office, it wound up seeing continuation in television rather than on the big screen. This time around it looks like Emmerich, et al. will get a chance to keep telling their crazy story about awkward nerds who accidentally trick illiterate brown people into thinking they are incarnated gods but get the girl anyway, and aging military guys who learn to overcome their tragic backstory when they open up to some brown teenagers and learn to care again through a couple films.

Your milage may vary, but what Stargate lacks as a film, it has always made up to me in a sense of overall optimism and joy in its own setpieces that you don’t always get in action film of this era, and if Emmerich and buddies want to try and do it again and better, I’ll be in the theater waiting.